Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda of immediate disestablishment. The rest basically told central government to go fuck itself. Some of them even wanted to say so explicitly. And many have directed their council bureaucracies to explore the option of just not having the required referendum - effectively threatening outright rebellion.
And the reason for this is simple: Māori wards work. In meeting after meeting, councillors stood up to say so, that the permanent presence of Māori representatives was a vital part of democracy which ensured the whole community was represented, gave them a useful perspective and valuable input and stopped them making mistakes. And in meeting after meeting, it was local National Party representatives saying this. Which tells you how off-side National's racist policy has put it with its own base.
So, in October next year, people in 43 council areas covering most of Te Ika-a-Māui will effectively be having a referendum on the National government. Which ought to make them decidedly uncomfortable. National can of course avoid this by repealing its racist legislation. If they don't, then here's hoping for a bloody defeat at the polls next year.
